Some Sons Do ‘Ave ‘Em

A concerned mother contacted gardai to tell them she thought her son was growing cannabis in his bedroom, a court heard.

Richard Armstrong (26) claimed he “just wanted to see if the hash plants would grow”.

The defendant said he suffers from alopecia, and he smokes cannabis as it “calms him down”.

Armstrong pleaded not guilty before Tallaght District Court to cultivating cannabis plants without a licence at his

parents home in Firhouse on September 22, 2007.

I would ask parents in a similar situation to consider the consequences for their son or daughter before making a decision to call the police. With a criminal record for growing cannabis your child will be not be allowed to travel to certain countries . CannabisNI

Garda Sarah Fitzgerald said she was on mobile patrol at about 8pm when a female made a 999 call to garda headquarters in Harcourt Square.

Gda Fitzgerald said she was dispatched to a house in Carrigwood Estate, Firhouse where she met a woman, Armstrong’s mother, who said she thought her son was growing drugs in his bedroom.

The garda said Mrs Armstrong invited her into her house, and brought her into her son’s bedroom, which was unlocked.

Tinfoil

Gda Fitzgerald said she looked in Armstrong’s wardrobe, the door of which was ajar, and found two cannabis plants growing there. The plants were under lights and the wardrobe was lined with tinfoil.

The court heard that Armstrong arrived home while gardai were talking to his mother, and he admitted the plants in his room were cannabis plants.

Gda Fitzgerald said the defendant was later interviewed by gardai. He said a friend gave him the seeds, and he’d put them in pot plants and watered them everyday.

He said he “just wanted to see if the plants would grow”.

Armstrong said he didn’t think the offence was that serious, and he had no plans to sell the drug.

Judge David McHugh found Armstrong guilty of growing cannabis plants without a licence.

He said the crime was “not the most heinous” before the court, but the judge said Armstrong was growing an illegal plant in his bedroom and he did not regard it as a “slight” matter.

Judge McHugh ordered a pre-sentence report and adjourned the matter to a date in April.